2 men sentenced in fraudulent scheme to steal from 6 N.Y. dealerships

Two New York City men were sentenced last week to spend years in prison and pay thousands of dollars in restitution for their involvement in a fraudulent scheme to steal vehicles from dealerships in Westchester County, N.Y.

Jankely Hidalgo, 29, and Jonathan Sevilla, 34, who had pleaded guilty in October, were each sentenced Wednesday to two to six years in state prison. From last fall through earlier this year, the men participated in a plan to fraudulently purchase and take possession of mostly high-end vehicles from several dealerships 40 to 50 miles north of New York City by using the personal identification and credit history of others, Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said last week.

In addition to serving time, both men were ordered to pay restitution — about $78,600 for Hidalgo and $52,507 for Sevilla.

“Fighting identity theft and the kind of extended crime it spawns, in this case, auto theft, is an important focus for our office,” Scarpino said in an email to Automotive News.

In October, the two men pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree identity theft, for the theft of a Lexus from Ray Catena Lexus of Larchmont, according to the district attorney’s office. Additionally, Sevilla pleaded guilty to a second count of first-degree identity theft for an attempted theft from Mariano Rivera Toyota of Mount Kisco in late January. The district attorney’s office also said both men admitted to additional thefts at other dealerships in Westchester County.

The cases are part of what prosecutors are calling a fraud ring that has drawn the attraction of federal investigators.

As part of the ring, Hidalgo supplied fictitious driver’s licenses and stolen personal information, such as Social Security numbers, to Sevilla and others in the ring to pose as legitimate buyers who had interest in financing a vehicle, prosecutors said.

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